Assessing the impact of universities' entrepreneurial activity on regional competitiveness

• Published in: Administrative sciences Vol. 13; no. 2; pp. 1 - 21
• Main Authors: Brás, Gonçalo Rodrigues, Preto, Miguel Torres, Daniel, Ana Dias, Teixeira, Aurora Amélia Castro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI 2023; MDPI AG
• Subjects: Case studies; Collaboration; Economic growth; entrepreneurial orientation; entrepreneurial university; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Higher education; higher education institutions; knowledge spillover; Literature reviews; Mexico; Portugal; Productivity; regional competitiveness; Regions; Standard of living; United Kingdom; Universities and colleges; Mexico; United Kingdom; Portugal
• ISSN: 2076-3387; 2076-3387
• DOI: 10.3390/admsci13020034

The aim of this study is to test the multidimensional construct of the Entrepreneurial University (EU), and therefore to confirm whether EU factors make a positive contribution to regional competitiveness. Data were collected from ten Portuguese Public Universities (PPUs) through a self-administered questionnaire. First- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed through factor and multiple linear regression analyses. The main findings show that EU related factors - perceived and combined with actual regional metrics - especially entrepreneurial supporting measures, positively contributed to regional competitiveness. This study shows policy makers that universities are not merely cost centres but provide knowledge spillovers that can have a positive influence on regional competitiveness.